Reading Assessment Research Articles

Oral Communication Skills of Grade VI Learners

The study focused on the oral communication skills along with articulation disorders among Grade VI learners of Balong Elementary School. It significantly analyzed the common errors committed by the respondents along articulation disorders. The study used the descriptive-qualitative type of research method. The data were gathered through administering an oral reading assessment with the use of a passage lifted from the Phil-IRI Module entitled “Galileo, The Scientist” consists of 89 words. It was found out in the study that the level of proficiency of most of the learners in oral communication falls under instructional level. The frequency of errors in oral communication disorders along articulation disorder shows that “imperfect production of phonetic elements” has the most committed error with 306 or 56.77%. “Omission of certain speech sound” ranks second with 119 or 22.08% errors. Third is “substitutions” with 98 or 18.18%. Fourth is “distortions” with 10 or 1.86% and the least is the “baby talk” with 6 0r 1.11%. Based on the findings, the following conclusions are drawn: a) Some of the learners are not well-versed enough in reading sight words; b) imperfect production of phonetic elements or mispronunciation as the most common error committed; specifically, on pronouncing words with long /a/, soft /th/, and vowels ‘ou’ with schwa /Ə/ sound; c) the most common factor affecting the oral communication skills of the learners is “lack of reading experience in school and at home”; and d) to minimize or avoid the errors in oral communication, intervening activities may be implemented.

Bringing Books to Life: Engaging Papuan Children to Read

Bringing Books to Life: Engaging Papuan Children to Read Wigati Yektiningtyas (bio) and James Modouw (bio) Compared to other Indonesian children, the literacy rate of Papuan children is pretty low. According to 2014 USAID’s Baseline Study for Rural and Remote Education Initiative for Papuan Provinces, the EGRA (Early Grade Reading Assessment) is also low, scoring only 14.61 percent (as opposed to the national score of 62.80 percent). This also means that despite Papuan children’s ability to read, they do not understand what they have read. Instead of reading, Papuan children generally prefer to play in the wild (Modouw 34). There is no encouragement from the parents as reading is considered unimportant and education is left entirely to the school. This calls for a strategy to foster Papuan children’s reading interest so they can gain new knowledge and experiences, develop imagination, and improve their language skills. In the early 2013, Community Reading Centers (CRCs) were established in Papua as an answer to this call (Yektiningtyas-Modouw and Karna 67–86). The books in CRC collections initially came from outside Papua and unfortunately, were not very attractive. Despite the improvement in 2020, CRCs still could not successfully attract children to read. During a 2021 observation of CRCs in Jayapura Regency, the children were seen just playing aimlessly. They merely browsed through the books before putting them back, showing no interest in reading. Interviews with several elementary schoolchildren reveal their disinterest in the contents of the books. “I don’t know rice fields, I don’t know elephants, I don’t like reading what I don’t know,” one of them said. Two teachers from CRCs in East Sentani and West Sentani Districts added that the children would read if they were forced to. Meanwhile, teachers from CRCs in Demta District and Kemtuk Gresi District said that while the children read books, they did not understand the contents. The teachers from CRCs in Central Sentani District also mentioned that the children would close the book immediately when they encountered unfamiliar terms, places, trees, objects, or animals. Even unfamiliar proper names could be an excuse for them to stop reading. These children seem to prefer reading folktales from the area where they came from (Yektiningtyas and Gultom 224). They find it easier to read and understand texts with familiar landscapes, animals, plants, daily routines, traditions, or proper names—a phenomenon referred to as “emotional ties” (Lazar). These connections become good bridges to motivate children to read and write, eliminating the burden of alienating materials (Yektiningtyas-Modouw and Karna; Dickinson et al.). [End Page 58] The Use of Papuan Folktales One of Papua’s local excellences that needs to be utilized in education is none other than folktales. This utilization is also in line with Jayapura’s new regulation of local languages and tradition in education in nine customary areas of the regency (Awoitauw 17). This is an attempt to preserve the rarely acknowledged cultural heritages and, simultaneously, further facilitates children’s reading through their emotional connection with local folklores. The texts, loaded with local values, can attract children to read, promoting reading habits and transforming them into independent readers. When all these things have been achieved, children can be introduced to various books from across cultures. The problem of reading difficulty becomes less apparent when folktales are used. Children easily recognize places, plants, animals, and proper names. For example, Ebi dan Kandei (Ebi and Kandei)—a famous fable from Sentani about friendship, fights, and betrayal between a bird and a fish— refers to the name of a Sentani endemic bird (Ebi) and an almost-extinct endemic fish in the Lake Sentani area (Kandei / Glossamia beauforti). Children’s familiarity with the content facilitates deeper engagement with the book. When Ebi and Kandei was used in the reading session, it was generally followed up by listing other birds around the Sentani area, such as the cassowary, mambruk (Goura victoria), kumkum, eagles, and cockatoos. They also listed the native fish in the lake area, such as kahe (Glossamia wichmani) and the rare kanseli (Neoarius velutinus). This activity led to an interesting discussion about extinction in nature and environmental preservation. NM (ten...

Machine learning procedures for predictor variable selection for schoolwork-related anxiety: evidence from PISA 2015 mathematics, reading, and science assessments

BackgroundLarge-scale international studies offer researchers a rich source of data to examine the relationship among variables. Machine learning embodies a range of flexible statistical procedures to identify key indicators of a response variable among a collection of hundreds or even thousands of potential predictor variables. Among these, penalized regression approaches, including least absolute selection and shrinkage operator (LASSO) and elastic net (Enet), have been advanced as useful tools capable of handling large number of predictors for variable selection for model generation. While the utility of penalized regression within educational research is emerging, less application of these machine learning methods, including random forest, to predictor variable selection in large-scale international data appears in the literature. In response, this study compared LASSO, Enet, and random forest for predictor variable selection, including the traditional forward stepwise (FS) regression approach, for students’ test anxiety or, more specifically, schoolwork-related anxiety based on PISA 2015 data.MethodsPrediction of the three machine learning methods were compared for variable selection of 188 indicators of schoolwork-related anxiety. Data were based on US students (N = 5593) who participated in PISA 2015. With the exception of FS, LASSO, Enet, and random forest were iterated 100 times to consider the bias resulting from data-splitting to determine the selection or non-selection of each predictor. This resulted in the reporting of number of selected variables into the following five count categories: 1 or more, 25 or more, 50 or more, 75 or more, and all 100 iterations.ResultsLASSO and Enet both outperformed random forest but did not differ from one another in terms of prediction performance in 100 iterations of modeling. Correspondingly, LASSO was compared to FS in which, of the 188 predictors, 27 were identified as key indicators of schoolwork-related anxiety across 100 iterations, and 26 variables were also statistically significant with FS regression. Aligned with previous research, key indicators included personal, situational, and mathematics and reading achievement. Further, LASSO identified 28 variables (14.89%) statistically unrelated to schoolwork-related anxiety, which included indicators aligned to students’ academic- and non-academic behaviors.ConclusionsLASSO and Enet outperformed random forest and yielded comparable results in which determinants of schoolwork-related anxiety included personal and environmental factors, including achievement goals, sense of belonging, and confidence to explain scientific phenomenon. LASSO and FS also identified similar predictor variables related, as well as unrelated, to schoolwork-related anxiety. Aligned with previous research, females reported higher schoolwork-related anxiety than males. Mathematics achievement was negatively related to anxiety, whereas reading performance was positively associated with anxiety. This study also bears significance as one of the first penalized regression studies to incorporate sampling weights and reflect the complex sampling schemes of large-scale educational assessment data.

Correction to: Properties of a combined measure of reading and writing: the Assessment of Writing, Self-Monitoring, and Reading (AWSM Reader)

Correction to: Properties of a combined measure of reading and writing: the Assessment of Writing, Self-Monitoring, and Reading (AWSM Reader)

Evaluating the effectiveness of game-based learning for teaching refugee children Arabic using the integrated LEAGUÊ-GQM approach

ABSTRACT Game-based learning (GBL) is widely utilised in various domains and continues to receive interest and attention from researchers and practitioners alike. However, there is still a lack of empirical evidence concerning its effectiveness, making GBL evaluation a critical undertaking. This paper proposes an integrated approach for planning and executing GBL evaluation studies and presents its application by evaluating the effectiveness of a GBL approach to improve the Arabic reading skills of migrant refugee children in an informal learning setup. The study focuses on how children’s age group, learning modality preference, and prior mobile experience affect their learning, usability, and gameplay performance. A quasi-experiment with a one-group pretest-posttest design was conducted with 30 children (5–10 years old) from migrant refugee backgrounds. The results show a statistically significant improvement in their reading assessment score. The results also outline a clear impact of children’s age groups on their learning gain, usability score, and total levels played. Moreover, learning modality preference and prior mobile experience both had a statistically significant effect related to usability and gameplay performance parameters. However, no effect was found on learning gain. Based on the findings, some design recommendations are suggested for more inclusive design focusing on user characteristics.

Educational Technology in Support of Elementary Students With Reading or Language-Based Disabilities: A Cluster Randomized Control Trial

Experts laud the potential of educational technology (edtech) to promote reading among students with disabilities, but supporting evidence is lacking. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Lexia® Core5® Reading edtech program (Core5) on the Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP) Growth Reading™ and easyCBM oral reading fluency performance of students with reading or language-based disabilities in Grades K to 5. Core5 systematically addresses multiple reading domains and previously was effective in general education. We hypothesized treatment students using Core5 would outperform controls on the reading assessments. This was a cluster randomized effectiveness evaluation, with condition assignment by school (three treatment and two business-as-usual control schools). Participating students in Grades K to 5 (N = 115; nTreatment = 65) were flagged by their Chicago-area district as needing reading intervention and had Individualized Education Program (IEP) designations of specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, or developmental delay. Treatment students used Core5 to supplement Tier 1 instruction for an average of 58.76 minutes weekly for 24.58 weeks. Regressions revealed treatment students outperformed controls on MAP (B = 3.85, CI = 0.57–7.13, p = .022, d = .24), but there were no differences for oral reading fluency. MAP findings confirm edtech can effectively supplement reading instruction for this population.

The Teachers’ Perceptions and Knowledge of Reading Assessment Survey: A Validation Study

Despite many calls, there is little research addressing teachers’ knowledge of reading assessments and how they utilize assessments for reading instruction. Therefore, the current research developed and validated a reliable measure of teachers’ perceptions and knowledge of reading assessments, called the Perceptions and Knowledge of Assessment in Literacy Survey (PKALS). Through the analysis of two separate administrations, we provide evidence for validity of the PKALS and examine the associations between teachers’ characteristics and their performance on the PKALS. This research also found that teacher experience was correlated with higher knowledge; however, teachers’ certification and graduate degree status were not. The PKALS can support future researchers and teacher preparation programs to identify gaps in teacher knowledge, allowing for interventions to promote student reading success.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Academic Functioning: Reading, Writing, and Math Abilities in a Community Sample of Youth with and without ADHD.

Previous studies have shown that Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is marked by impairments in academic functioning in reading, writing, and mathematics. Yet, virtually no studies have examined academic functioning in terms of both basic skills (e.g., word recognition, handwriting/spelling, arithmetic calculations) and more complex advanced skills (e.g., reading comprehension, writing composition, and mathematical problem-solving) within the same sample. In the present study, 518 children with ADHD were compared to a control group of 851 children without ADHD (ages 8-18) and assessed on a comprehensive battery of reading, writing, and math assessments. It was hypothesized that ADHD diagnostic status would uniquely predict performance on advanced skill measures even after controlling for performance on basic skills in that academic domain. ADHD status was associated with worse performance across all academic tests. Results also indicated that ADHD independently predicted performance for measures of writing composition and one measure of reading comprehension, even after controlling for performance on basic skills in those domains. However, ADHD did not independently predict mathematical problem-solving performance. These findings add to the literature on ADHD and academic functioning and indicate that inattention may weaken skills necessary for effective reading comprehension and writing composition.

Impact of School Calendar on Academic Performance: A Comparative Study of the Year-Round and Traditional Calendars

Educational provisions enacted at the national level impact states by requiring a priority on improving the academic performance of students. Leaders in educational settings strive to implement changes that will aid in closing achievement gaps and increase academic achievement. The goal of this quantitative study was to determine if differences exist on fifth grade students’ performance on reading and mathematics assessments between schools on full-year calendars and schools on traditional 9-month calendars for years 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019. Although statistically significant differences were not found, results inform decision-making pertinent to time allocated for student learning. Results can be considered by district and campus administrators to support and encourage initiatives which focus on designated instructional time to target students’ academic needs.

Integrating Reading Aloud, Writing, and Assessment Through Voice Recording With EFL Learning

This study attempts to develop an EFL learning output activity by integrating reading aloud, writing, and assessment through voice recording. 62 college students participated in the activities for 15 weeks. Surveys, self-evaluations, and teacher evaluations were conducted and analyzed using the SPSS t-test to examine the students’ reactions to the activities. The survey results for the psychological questionnaires on confidence, anxiety, and attitude toward English were not statistically significant except with regard to willingness to practice English. The students became familiar with the activities and this might have led them to feel that they could improve their English skills through this repetitive integrated activity. Additionally, while students’ self-evaluation results in the competence for listening, reading, speaking, grammar, and vocabulary were statistically significant (<i>p</i> < .05), the competences for writing and pronunciation were not. Writing fatigue and pronunciation mistakes encountered during the activities might have contributed to students’ negative reactions in the confidence, anxiety, and attitude questionnaires. Nevertheless, it can be surmised that the integrated activities could help activate the English knowledge possessed by students. The methodology can also be recommended for use in EFL classes to make students become active participants and be aware of their English competence.

The Effectiveness of Click and Clunk Strategy on the Students’ Reading Achievement

The goal of this study is to determine how well the Click & Clunk approach works in improving students' reading comprehension. In this study, non-randomized pretests and posttests were used in a quasi-experimental setting utilizing quantitative methodologies. Students from SMPN 1 Kanigoro served as the study's subjects, with Class 7H serving as the control group and Class 7I serving as the experimental group. Reading assessments served as the research's tools (pretest and posttest). The control group class, on the other hand, was taught using the KWL method. The experimental group class was taught utilizing the Click & Clunk method. A posttest was then provided to both groups. The data was generated by SPSS Version 20 and then analyzed using ANCOVA. The analysis's findings suggested that the Click and Clunk Strategy could raise children' reading proficiency.

Automatic story and item generation for reading comprehension assessments with transformers

Reading comprehension is one of the essential skills for students as they make a transition from learning to read to reading to learn. Over the last decade, the increased use of digital learning materials for promoting literacy skills (e.g., oral fluency and reading comprehension) in K-12 classrooms has been a boon for teachers. However, instant access to reading materials, as well as relevant assessment tools for evaluating students’ comprehension skills, remains to be a problem. Teachers must spend many hours looking for suitable materials for their students because high-quality reading materials and assessments are primarily available through commercial literacy programs and websites. This study proposes a promising solution to this problem by employing an artificial intelligence (AI) approach. We demonstrate how to use advanced language models (e.g., OpenAI’s GPT-2 and Google’s T5) to automatically generate reading passages and items. Our preliminary findings suggest that with additional training and fine-tuning, open-source language models could be used to support the instruction and assessment of reading comprehension skills in the classroom. For both automatic story and item generation, the language models performed reasonably; however, the outcomes of these language models still require a human evaluation and further adjustments before sharing them with students. Practical implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.

Impact of Predictor Variables on L2 English Reading Acquisition for Grades 3 and 5

This study was part of a larger longitudinal study in which we focused on measuring reading acquisition and observing the impact of SES, curriculum and gender on reading subtest scores. In Part 1 of our study (in review), we reported on findings for students in Grade 1. For Part 2 of our study, we report on our findings for students in Grades 3 and 5 and offer a comparison across the three elementary grades. Participants for the current study included 657 students from Grade 3 (n = 328) and 5 (n = 329) representing low-cost, middle-cost and high-cost schools in Bangalore, India. The students’ reading skills were measured using progress-monitoring tools and we utilized a mixed-effects hierarchical growth model to observe reading growth. The results suggested that both SES and curriculum had the most significant and positive effect on skills acquisition. These results will shed light on reading assessment and intervention practices in the Indian context.

Modeling the relations between reading skills and assessment methods in adults who struggle with foundational reading skills

Modeling the relations between reading skills and assessment methods in adults who struggle with foundational reading skills

Virtual assessments for students with disabilities: A case study from India: Virtual assessment in reading

The pandemic in India impacted over 247 million learners (UNICEF, 2021). Children with disabilities were at a significant disadvantage, losing access to rehabilitation, medical and remedial services (Verneker et al., 2020). This article presents a guide to assessing students virtually. It explores one teacher’s attempts to navigate learning to read remotely using a digital curriculum-based measurement tool, Fluency Assessment for Benchmarking in Literacy education (FABLe). It discusses the processes she employed to set goals, monitor progress, and structure virtual assessments over the course of an academic year to build reading fluency. Overall, virtual assessments were easy to conduct. Teachers require two devices when conducting FABLe virtually, one to share the reading passage, and one to mark progress. FABLe provides end-of-year benchmark goals that can be used as individual target goals for students. More research is needed to develop benchmarks specific to the Indian context. FABLe data were most useful when communicating progress with parents and informing instructional practices. Many processes used to implement FABLe virtually can be applied to face-to-face settings, such as goal setting and progress monitoring schedules. Learning was impacted for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who struggled with access to the internet and support in the home settings.

Advances and Missed Opportunities in the Development of the 2026 NAEP Reading Framework

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Reading aims to measure reading comprehension for students in the United States and to monitor progress in our education system. NAEP Reading is developed based on an assessment framework document that is periodically revised to reflect the latest understandings about reading comprehension and its assessment. A key goal of the Visioning Panel (VP) and the Development Panel (DP) charged with updating the NAEP Reading Assessment Framework for 2026 was to lay the foundation for an assessment that made progress toward greater fairness, equity, and validity. In this essay, we discuss how the Framework development process unfolded and its results. We document the unusual ways the National Assessment Governing Board (“the Board”) shaped the development process. We provide evidence that a small group of Board members aimed to preserve the status quo in reading assessment by downplaying reliance on expertise and authoritative sources of research on reading, learning, and assessment and by removing attention to equity in NAEP Reading. We also discuss both successful (i.e., approved by the Board) and unsuccessful (i.e., rejected by the Board) recommendations for changes to the 2026 Framework that initially were proposed by the DP. We end by considering how, despite the efforts of the small group of Board members, we as a literacy field can improve the nature and impact of our large-scale reading assessments, and NAEP in particular.

Exploring perceptual learning-style preferences of English language non-gainers in computerized dynamic reading assessment

This study presents the results of a sequential explanatory mixed-method approach to investigate the Iranian English language non-gainers of a computerized dynamic reading comprehension test (CDRT) by utilizing a learning style survey. Using an interventionist approach, the researchers used the CDRT software to explore English learners’ perceptual learning-style preferences of non-gainers in CDRT. The study participants were selected from among 24 advanced English language learners attending a reading course at a language institute in Iran. The results of Learning Potential Score (LPS) formula categorized six of the participants as non-gainers of CDRT. They were asked to fill out a learning style survey individually and participate in an interview to express their attitudes toward using the software. The findings revealed some common tendencies regarding field-independency, impulsivity/reflectivity, and metaphoric/literal style preferences supported in learners’ interviews. In this study, learners’ style preferences potentially played an important role in reporting learners’ performance; therefore, it is suggested to consider students’ learning styles in making decisions about their abilities and disabilities in CDRT.

Relationship Between Health Literacy and Self-Efficacy in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes in Yazd, Iran

Background and Objectives: Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) is a common, chronic and debilitating disease that causes many psychological, social, and physical problems in patients. Health literacy and self-efficacy are important factors influencing self-care behaviors in diabetic patients. The present study aims to investigate the relationship between health literacy and self-efficacy in patients with T2D in Yazd, Iran. Methods: This is a descriptive correlational study. Participants were 100 patients with T2D referred to the diabetes clinic in Yazd province in 2020 who were selected by a sequential sampling method. Data were collected using the Health Literacy for Iranian Adults (HELIA) and the General Self-Efficacy Scale of Scherer et al. (1982). The data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, and independent t-test. Data analysis was done in SPSS v.21 software. Results: There was a significant positive correlation between health literacy (and its components) and self-efficacy in patients with T2D. Women had higher level of self-efficacy than men and had higher scores in health literacy components of access, comprehension, and decision making, while men had higher scores in the components of reading skills and assessment. Conclusion: Health literacy is correlated to self-efficacy in diabetes management. They play an important role in improving the quality of life and self-care behaviors of T2D patients.

Text Reading Fluency Error Analysis of Korean 1st and 2nd Graders with Developmental Dyslexia considering Semantic Knowledge

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of text reading fluency error analysis of Korean 1st and 2nd graders with developmental dyslexia considering semantic knowledge. Methods: Thirty developmental dyslexic children were divided into two groups of 15 children, one group with poor vocabulary and the other not. Both groups had similar word decoding abilities as determined by Korean Language based Reading Assessment (Pae, Kim, Yoon, & Jang, 2015). The children had normal intelligence and difficulties in reading. The task was the text taken from Korean Language based Reading Assessment. Considering semantic knowledge, the performance of text reading fluency and error types, the results of miscue analysis (MA) and Linguistic pattern analysis (LPA) were compared. Results: The group with poor vocabulary exhibited a lower frequency of errors in substitution and correction by miscue analysis. They also showed a lower error frequency in phoneme-grapheme non-correspondent errors by linguistic pattern analysis. Conclusion: According to the automaticity theory, we need to read texts with understanding on a semantic basis. Even with the same level of decoding, there were more errors in text reading fluency due to limited semantic knowledge in the group with poor vocabulary. Paragraphs in textbooks in the 1st and 2nd grades in Korea contain several phoneme-grapheme non-correspondent ‘eojeols’ that combine grammatical morpheme graphemes. Therefore, in addition to reading errors of grapho-phonology in syllable units, reading errors considering triple word-form bases should be examined.

Oral Reading Development of Grade Two Learners of Nug-as Elementary School amidst Covid-19 Pandemic

The study focuses on the oral development of the learners in a public school in elementary amidst covid-19 pandemic. The experimental group, 29 pupil-participants from public elementary school in Nug-as Alcoy Cebu were chosen as the study subjects for this qualitative research which were selected using random sampling approach. This study utilized the descriptive-correlational design employing the qualitative approach. Moreover, the research instrument used in the study is research made questionnaire and the Early Grade Reading Assessment Toolkit pretest result for the school year 2022-2023. The study revealed that the covid -19 pandemic affected education in many ways. There were many factors affecting the oral development of the learners during the pandemic. The oral reading skills of the primary grades specifically in grade 2 is estimated to be lower than in typical years and will fall farther behind if no action is taken. However, utilizing a proper intervention can be instrumental in improving pupils’ reading skill. The study recommends that the government should prioritize solutions to minimize learning losses especially in uplifting the reading skills of the primary grades. Doing so helps save the future of the students as well as to continue learning in a purposeful and meaningful way.